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Jim DeVries

Jim has worked at Heifer for over 28 years.  He has been their Senior Vice President of Programs since 2003.  He has provided leadership for staff around the world, developing and managing more than 770 projects through 53 country and regional offices.  Jim started as the Director of Africa/Near East Programs in 1982.  He was later named Director of Programs in 1992.

Prior to Heifer, Dr. DeVries was a professor and head of the Agricultural Extension and Education Department at Sokoine University in Morogoro, Tanzania.  Dr. De Vries was born in The Netherlands and was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1961. He is fluent in English, Dutch and Swahili, as well as reading and understanding German. He has a Ph.D. in continuing and vocational education from the University of Wisconsin, an M.S. in cooperative extension (education) and a B.A. in history and religion from Bloomfield College in New Jersey.